Gautam: Thanks for the comment, first-time-commenter. I think you’ve hit it, it’s not just the data that’s interesting, but the metadata surrounding the *actual* data, whether that data is structured or not. I like the bit about the varying levels of care regarding the photographic datasets, and I wonder if there is a correlation between physicality and care.

Jen: In re: paranoia… I think the issue is that we don’t know what entities are doing with the data, and there’s a point in the Economist article about most consumers likely being impressed by what Amazon, Netflix, et al. are doing with data, rather than fearful…if they only knew what those companies were doing with their data. For me though, the biggest problem is that other people have some level of control over my identity, from check-ins to Facebook tags to Flickr uploads. Regarding mass media: if you knew everything about everybody, would there be a need for *mass* media? Or would we need something new?

Johanna: All your points, just…right on.

“by the way, I forgot to write about that, ZOMG thanks Undercurrent for hiring my best internet friend” om nom nom yay. I thank Undercurrent for hiring MY best internet friend first and dragging him to NY!

“but you can make them do something that’s very similar to something else they’re already doing.” - Super point. I guess that’s in part why we dove into all this stuff so early and quickly; because we’ve been documenting our lives in some way for so many years anyway. And it was the same behavior but just on a different platform. Of course that makes sense.

“But a world where data are used to make decisions within a deeper field of context feels like a better one to me, and it feels like a world with less advertising and more desirable information delivered efficiently to the people who desire it most.” This reminds me of that thing Mike said last week re: brands just needing to get better at connecting their offerings with the people who will want it most. This definitely seems like the way we’ll be able to move toward that…

Excited to read that Economist article, thanks for posting that.

“…it feels like a world with less advertising and more desirable information delivered efficiently to the people who desire it most.” …reminds me of a conversation we had a while ago about the usefulness/uselessness of targeting in advertising. Delivering a useful message to people who would like to have it seems a much more logical route than searching for a target and delivering waste in the process. How do we incorporate this strategy into mass media delivery? asks the media planner. Must this thought process be aligned with digital media only?

Thanks for a fascinating read. This may be my favorite post yet.

It’s so easy to overlook the human factor of how we use technology and live our lives digitally - and most people do. Twitter wouldn’t be so popular if humans inherently did not crave interaction - same goes for any of the new services we use everyday - flickr, dopplr,…you name it.

My uncle loves photography, so does my cousin. While my uncle has scores of binders at home filled with the pictures he took, my brother has Flickr account. Essentially, the content created - in this case a photo - is the same. The way they relate to content is different. But, the fundamental driver is both cases is the same. Personally, I think my uncle values his binders more than my cousin values his flickr account. Which is where it gets interesting - so, what does it mean to my cousin that it is easier for me to copy his photographs than it is for me to make copies of my uncle’s prints? Digital identity is fascinating - and yes, metadata is what defines it.

I love how you put it here - “But a world where data are used to make decisions within a deeper field of context feels like a better one to me, and it feels like a world with less advertising and more desirable information delivered efficiently to the people who desire it most.”

I posted about something similar earlier today - http://tinyurl.com/y9bb86f .I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again - the concept of metadata as an inspiration to be better person is bloody fascinating!